30 Kisses
by Adrenaline Static Monster
Summary: 30 Kisses challenge, retrieved from Livejournal, done for this year's NaNoWriMo. I should probably change the title since the 30 Kisses is really more of what I used as a prompt than anything else. LxOC
1. An Unexpected Kiss

**30 Kisses Challenge**

Theme #3 = Unexpected

Chapter One: An Unexpected Kiss

If there was anything Jackson hated more than working in a candy store it was cleaning up after the children who wandered in there, day after day, rubbing their grubby, sticky fingers all over everything they shouldn't be touching. Even worse than the little monsters were their parents. Oh, yes, the adult men and women who believed their precious child could do no wrong. Not even the one little boy who decided that he needed his doting parents to buy _just the right one_, and proceeded to tear off the wrappers of each lollipop and go for a taste. But, of course fourteen out of fifteen lollipops hadn't had "the right flavor," or "the right shape." Her personal favorite, however, was that one lollipop "was staring at him."

The parents had thought the whole display was cute while Jackson now found that the whole display was ruined. She'd had to throw out the whole batch, an action that had cost her. Literally. The big boss man, a pudgy mustachioed man with a fondness for fried chicken who looked remarkably like Theodore Roosevelt, had thought it only fair to take the cost of the ruined candy out of her paycheck.

The only safe items were those behind the glass counter at the back of the store.

What could possibly be even worse than the bratty fiends society called children?

Jackson's total lack of a social life.

Working in the candy shop took up most of her time, so most socialization with her friends was canceled in favor of gaining overtime. Her apartment, though small, was still expensive given the city environment and accessibility, so most extra money she made went to towards rent. Given that she rarely went out her only chances to associate with those of possible romantic interest were limited to her work hours. Needless to say, the majority of the candy shop's customers were either the aforementioned children, or their parents.

Not exactly a prime spot for picking up those of the opposite sex.

This being said, the occurrence of a young man her age walking into the candy shop was somewhat unusual. He had no child with him, nor did he look old enough to have a child of his own. Then again, people these days were less careful about such things. The combination of deep bags under his eyes, an extremely slender frame, and pale, almost translucent skin told Jackson that:

A.) This man didn't sleep enough;

B.) This man didn't eat enough;

C.) This man didn't go out enough; or

D.) All of the above.

Theory B was shot when the young man promptly ordered three full cheesecakes (one strawberry, one lemon, and one plain.) Shocked that anyone would order three cheesecakes at one time (too much of a flavor overload for her, and she was somewhat of a sweet tooth herself,. She did, after all, work in a candy shop) she stood speechless on the other side of the counter. Not that it mattered, because he continued on after a moment of indecision, and ordered, "Two of these, three of those, and…"

He paused once more. Half-turning to the right, he pulled his hand out of his jeans pocket, grabbed a handful of Hershey's kisses, and dropped them onto the glass counter. "And these, too."

Before Jackson had a chance to say anything, the young man reached into another bin and removed a handful of Fun-Dips. Tossing them onto the glass counter in addition the Hershey's kisses, he added, "And these, too, I think."

With a roll of her eyes, Jackson went to work preparing the man's order.

In the silence following, she heard him stroll the rest of the store. Slowly, methodically. Like he was looking for something, like something or someone was hiding behind the artistically arranged display of Twizzlers. Nothing was there, of course, except perhaps chocolate-y fingerprints left over from the child who'd been in the shop earlier that day.

Piling the cheesecake boxes on top of one another before gently placing them at the bottom of a medium-sized plastic bag, Jackson looked up and asked, "Are you going to be able to carry these?"

"Is there a reason I should be unable?"

"Uh, no, you just…" _look really skinny. Like you don't have the muscle mass to carry a bag of cheesecakes, and various other candies, _"look kind of, uh, tired, and I was wondering if you'd want these items delivered…"

He bit the end of his thumb. From the way he looked at her she could tell he knew she was lying. . The exact shade of dark chocolate, the man's eyes pierced her own even though her eyes had shot to the ceiling in an effort to avoid the man's gaze. After a moment of studious _, the man shook his black, shaggy locks, and said, "No, thank you. I'm perfectly capable."

Jackson swallowed, embarrassed. She shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Her mouth always got her into trouble. "Alright, well, your total comes to fifty-seven eighty."

The man dug into his back packet, pulled out a hundred dollar bill, handed it to Jackson and said, "You may keep the change."

With a shrug of indifference, Jackson entered the amount into the cash register before swiping the contents on the counter into separate plastic bag. She pushed to the two bags forward, expecting the man to take his items and leave the store. Instead, he reached into the second bag, shuffled around inside it for a few second, and eventually pulled out tootsie roll pop.

"Do you have a trash can?" The man asked, after unwrapping the lollipop and sticking it in his mouth.

Jackson raised an eyebrow at his actions, but nodded and held her hand out for the trash. "Sure; right under the counter here."

"Jackson!" Her boss shouted, waddling into the main room from his office. "I don't pay you to socialize with the customers. If the man is done, and there are no customers, then get to work cleaning up."

Strangely embarrassed at being scolded in front of the young man, Jackson ducked her head to hide both a blush and a roll of her eyes. Grabbing a rag from her apron, she diligently began scrubbing down the surface of the glass counter. Satisfied that she was doing her job, Boss Man returned to his office.

In her peripheral vision she could see the customer adjusting his packages before setting something on the counter in front of her. She glanced up, surprised at the action. What her surprised even more was the single, silver Hershey's kiss resting in the center of the counter. Reaching forward, she picked up the unexpected gift and met the man's gaze with her own.

"Thanks." Jackson said, noting the curiosity in his gaze and trying her best to ignore it. She licked her lips, tucking the candy in the left pocket of her apron.

Instead of saying anything, he cocked his head to the side, and shifted the lollipop to left side of his mouth. With one last, probing glance, the young man shuffled out of the shop, cheesecake and candies sturdily in hand. He had been able to carry them, quite easily, too, it seemed.

"Why aren't you working?" Jackson's boss snapped, poking his head once more around the door frame of his office.

Resisting to urge to say the snippy comeback that was crawling its way up her throat, Jackson returned to swiping down the counter until the boss had returned to his office. Only then, when she was sure he was busy, did she turned take out the Hershey's kiss. Only then did she unwrap the candy, and place milk chocolate in her mouth.

With a jolt, Jackson realized that she was blushing. She _never_ blushed.

Tonguing the chocolate, Jackson found herself wishing the young man would come back, and say something to her as sweet as the Hershey's kiss in her mouth.

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**A/N: First ever 30 Kisses challenge! Woohoo! Anyway, I'm taking the prompts pretty loosely, as you can probably tell by my not-so-literal interpretation of Theme #3. No worries, for there will, of course, be actual kissing soon. Thanks for reading!_ Please review!_ I like knowing what I've done well, haven't done well, or what I could do better in the future. Corrections for mistakes are welcome, too, since I haven't really had a chance to edit this. **

**Thanks again for reading. :3  
**


	2. A Kiss in the Archives

**30 Kisses Challenge**

Theme #5 = Library Archives

Chapter Two: A Kiss in the Archives

Jackson wasn't looking forward doing the research for her journalism class. Journalism was supposed to about tracking down leads, and finding clues, and solving mysteries, and telling the world everything it needed to know, not finding one specific article in the archives of a library that allegedly held over fifteen thousand individual newspapers alone.

Stopping at the front desk, for she'd never been to this library before, Jackson asked, "Hello, can you point me in the direction of the newspaper archives?"

The woman at the desk raised her eyebrows as if to say _what kind of a person actually wants to go into that hellish mess of old, dusty papers?_ Instead of saying that, of course, the woman smiled, and replied, "Sure. It's right down that hallway. You'll know it when you see it, believe me."

"Thanks." Jackson returned the smile, turning away towards the aforementioned hallway.

Sure enough, the short hallway led into one large, brightly lit room full of stacks upon stacks of old newspapers. Organized in rows by year, then further divided into month and date, and then finally separated by newspaper title. If everything was correctly put away, no trouble should be found while looking for the needed article.

"Alright," Jackson murmured to herself as she began walking through the stacks, "time to get down to business."

Turning the corner perhaps a little too fast, Jackson slammed into a hard body. A soft grunt of surprise, and a tumble bodies to the ground later Jackson realized that she had in fact run into somebody. She looked up, mouth ready to spew forth apologies like a waterfall of shame when her eyes met those of a familiar dark chocolate set.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Jackson gasped loudly, momentarily forgetting that she was in a library.

The young man bit the end of his thumb and drew in a deep, lazy breath. "Watari thought I should get out more. He thinks I need more sunlight."

"Watari?" Jackson asked instead of pointing at that he was inside a library, and therefore not letting the sun's precious rays caress his skin. Whoever this Watari was, however, had a valid point. The young man in front of her looked as though he'd avoided direct sunlight for years. Not that she minded, as the pale tone of his skin somehow worked for him, as did his lean body type, and large round eyes framed by thick black lashes. He was actually quite good-looking. This was a bit of a shock for Jackson who'd never found his type attractive. She'd always preferred tanned, blond-haired, blue-eyed, athletic types of the Manly-Man persuasion, _not_ pale, dark-haired, sickly looking young men with an affinity for sweets and a general lack of footwear.

The young man rudely ignored her question, standing up and returning to the flipping through the pages of the newspaper he'd had in his hand before being bumped. Biting back an angry comment, Jackson stood as well and continued scanning the shelves for the date for which she had been looking.

Ah! There it was! The December 3rd, 1991 issue of _The Washington Post _(A/N: Unoriginal, I know, but I don't really care that much about coming up with a new name for a newspaper.) Yes, there it sat waiting for her to pluck it out of its home… which was directly in front of Dark Chocolate's crotch. Jackson frowned, and bent forward intending to snatch the newspaper and run. Instead, as she grabbed the newspaper she brushed past the front of Dark Chocolate's jeans, perturbing him enough in his reading to make him say, "_Excuse me_…"

Startled, for she hadn't been expecting any comments out of him, Jackson jackknifed into a standing position. In doing so their heads knocked together. Foreheads connected in a painful _crack_, as well as minor, crooked, and entirely accidental lip to lip contact. Not _exact_ lip to lip contact, for it was unintentional after all, but there was enough to make Jackson blush furiously and recoil into the shelf at her back.

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry," Jackson apologized, looking at anything but the man in front of her.

After a moment of silence out of the young man, Jackson looked up. He touched the tips of his slim fingers to his lips where they'd come into contact with each other, swiping from the inner corner to the plump center as if to detect the traces of her essence left on him. Rubbing the tip of his middle finger and his thumb together for a moment, the young man sent her a curious glance.

His curious glance only made her more embarrassed, if not admitting to herself that his behavior was very strange, especially for one of his age. Then again, she didn't know his exact age; she only knew for sure was that he really seemed to like sweets. Even that was debatable. He could have been buying the candy and cakes for someone else, or for a party. What did she really know about him?

Did she _want_ to know more about him?

She was surprised to find that she did. He was an extremely intriguing man, and perhaps though it was due to her journalism instincts she truthfully wanted to uncover the mystery he presented. She stood up straight, wiping her palms on her jeans before holding her hand out to shake. "I'm, uh, my name is Jackson. But everyone calls me Jackie."

The young man stared at her hand for a moment before taking the tips of her fingers between his own and shaking gently. _More curious behavior_, she noted mentally. Dark Chocolate eyes met her gaze and said, "Ryuzaki."

_The name is Japanese in origin, obviously,_ she thought once again, outwardly giving him a smile.

Her lips still tingled from the accidental contact, and he was starting to stare at her mouth. Biting her lips uncomfortably, Jackson took a step to the side, away from Ryuzaki's prying gaze. If she didn't know better, she'd think he knew something about investigation himself. More than likely he was just a strange, sheltered boy.

She spun on her heel, walking away from his strange mannerisms, soft lips, and suspicious eyes. Now if only she could stop thinking about those lips, she could get on with her journalism project and stop pondering who he was, where he'd come from, and why he was _so weird_.

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**A/N: Faaanks fer readin'. U shud reeview. Yesh. **

**But, seriously. Thanks for reading. And you should review, too. I would enjoy that very much. I mean, it's not like I'm going to say, "If you don't review, then I'm not updating," because that's just stupid, but reviews do feed a writer's soul and I really don't want to starve. **

**Thanks again for reading. :3**


	3. A Kiss From Point A to Point B

**30 Kisses **

Theme #9 = Mode of Transportation

Chapter Three: A Kiss From Point A to Point B

Standing underneath an alcove waiting for the bus was not how Jackson pictured her big exit. But that was how she had ended up: outside without an umbrella, her eyes scanning the road for her transportation home. The rain had come down unexpectedly, pouring in buckets across the city while she remained just inside the entrance of the library hoping that for once the bus would arrive on time.

"Damn weatherman…" Jackson murmured testily, shifting her weight to her other leg.

A black car with dark tinted windows pulled up in front of the library. Mildly surprised to see an elderly man step out of the driver's side, which she noticed was on the right side meaning it was at the very least a foreign-made car, Jackson watched as he opened a large black umbrella with a decisive _snap_.

"Hmm…It seems I didn't get any sun after all, Watari." Ryuzaki's lazy voice came from her left as the man, presumably "Watari," approached with the umbrella high over his head.

In her peripheral vision Jackson saw Ryuzaki standing or, rather, hunching since it seemed that he rarely stood _completely _straight, in front of the double doors, and staring up at the sky with that same curious look she'd received quite a few times before. Several droplets of rain fell to his face, splattering and trickling down his cheeks like tears before he was covered by the large black umbrella.

Retrieving his hands from his pockets, Ryuzaki removed a lollipop from his pockets as well, unwrapping the candy and popping it into his mouth.

Wordlessly, Watari held his hand out for the trash and put it into his pocket.

Then the two began to walk to the car as though completely oblivious to the fact Ryuzaki was shoeless. Not entirely shoeless though, because he had a pair of shoes; he just wasn't wearing them. In fact, a pair of Converse tied together by the laces were hanging from around his neck. She watched them, Ryuzaki and Watari, bemused. The bottom of his jeans were soaking up the water like a sponge, and Ryuzaki didn't seem to care whatsoever. His toes, bony and long like the rest of his phalanges, looked callused as though he made a habit of walking around barefoot. Although, truly, anyone who walked into candy shops and libraries without shoes probably went around shoeless most places. Now that she thought about it, the candy shop's policy was the same as any other, "No shirt, no shoes, no service."

And she'd served him anyway.

Jackson sighed, cursing her lack of observation skills. Building her observation skills was something she was always working on, as they were a great asset if she ever wanted to succeed in the business of journalism.

Ryuzaki and Watari stopped, half-turning to face her where she stood under the alcove.

Watari, or who she assumed was Watari, spoke first, asking, "Are you waiting for the bus, miss?"

"Uh, yes." Jackson replied awkwardly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Why do you ask?"

"A traffic report three minutes ago stated that the bus has gotten caught in a bit of a traffic jam on 43rd," Watari explained, "and most likely will be unable to move for at least twenty more minutes."

"Oh, no! Really?" She couldn't walk all the way to 43rd street! That was farther than it would take her to walk on her to the apartment building! Crossing her arms over her chest, Jackson began formulating the path of least resistance to her apartment. Keeping herself dry was not an option as this point, so the only problem was getting home without getting mugged or raped in the process.

Speaking then in that smooth, low voice of his, Ryuzaki said, "Seems you are in need of transport."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Jackson replied absentmindedly, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she plotted her path from point A to point B.

"Watari."

"Yes, L." Watari murmured, opening the door of the car for Ryuzaki to enter before returning to stand in front of Jackson. "Would you like us to drive you over to your living arrangements? Or perhaps somewhere within walking distance of them if you feel uncomfortable?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Jackson asked, finally putting her full attention towards the man in front of her. "Could you repeat that?"

"I can see that you are in need of transportation, and we wondered if you like a ride to your home, or at the very least to somewhere nearby?"

"Oh." Jackson paused, slightly unwary. Getting into a car with two strange men (or, rather, one _extremely _bizarre young man, and an older man who intentions seemed pure) was not her idea of a safe route home. Although the young man _was_ strange, and his prying eyes disconcerting, he seemed harmless enough. Having always prided herself on reliable gut instincts, Jackson figured she might as well accept the offer. If things turned out for the worse… well, she had her handy can of mace in her purse, as well as several other items that could be used effectively as weapons in a worse case scenario. "Sure."

Sliding into the backseat of the car, Jackson gave him the address of store within walking distance of her apartment. She grabbed her seat belt as Watari started the car, and half-turned in the seat to secure herself.

Next to her sat Ryuzaki, his knees pulled to his chest like a little boy. Taking the lollipop out of his mouth with a loud, suction-induced _pop_, Ryuzaki said, "That wasn't very smart."

"Excuse me?"

"For all you know, we could be murdering rapists. Criminals on the run."

Jackson scowled. "I'd already thought of that."

"And you risked it anyway?" Ryuzaki placed the lollipop in his mouth again, and continued with, "You must have mace, or some sort of self-defense weapon on you. Still, there's two of us, and only one of you."

Remaining quiet, Jackson shifted in her seat, crossing her legs and turning her head to stare at the rivulets of water on the window.

"And statistics prove that self-defense weapons only work close-range roughly thirty percent of the time."

With a sigh of frustration, Jackson turned in her seat, ready once again to let loose with a snippy comeback, but she hadn't expected Ryuzaki to be so… close. He was so close, in fact, that their noses were almost touching, and he was giving her the same curious look she was beginning to realize came with associating with him. She could feel his breath warm against her skin, his hair tickling her cheeks as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

He pulled away before she had time to react, but not fast enough that she didn't find herself breathing a bit quicker than before.

And he said she'd had to worry about the possibility of Watari being a criminal on the run; he hadn't said anything about stealing kisses in the backseat for himself.

Ryuzaki licked his lips. "Hm… I knew it. You had a strawberry Jolly Rancher earlier today, didn't you?"

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**A/N: Ah! Kisses! Review, please!**

**Thanks for reading! :3  
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	4. A Kiss Interrupted

**A/N: First off, thanks to **Rainbow Colorz** and **Fool's Ivory Wings** for reviewing! And thank you also to everyone who put me on their Story Alert/Favorite Story lists. Makes me feel cool. :33**

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**30 Kisses **

Theme #2 = Fall From Grace/Glory

Chapter Four: A Kiss Interrupted 

He'd kissed her. Ryuzaki had kissed her.

And why? Because he'd tasted a strawberry Jolly Rancher on her mouth from when they'd knocked heads in the archives? The man was weird. Jackson had no doubt about that. If she was smart she would demand to be let out of the car and take her chances walking home in the rain. Yet she remained in her seat, hoping that Ryuzaki and his deliciously soft lips would move back to their side of the car.

But, no, he stayed in close proximity as if waiting for her to say something.

"Uh, yeah." Jackson said uncomfortably. What did he want from her? A comment about his super powered, radioactive lips and taste buds? "A strawberry Jolly Rancher. Or two."

Nodding as though she'd reaffirmed what he already knew, which was entirely true, Ryuzaki finally moved out of her personal space. Not that he understood the concept of personal space, considering the way he'd invaded hers so easily.

The car slowed to a stop in front of the market to which Jackson had directed Watari. She started to exit the vehicle, but Watari stopped her, opting instead to open the door for her like a good butler (or whatever it was that Watari's presence in Ryuzaki's life meant… she couldn't be quite sure yet.) He held the umbrella above her had that same way he had for Ryuzaki while the car continued to run.

"I know where I've seen your face before."

Jackson's hand clenched the top of the car door where she grabbed it to stand as she rose from the car. Ryuzaki couldn't have meant _that_. He was only referring to the fact that he remembered seeing her at the candy shop. All he was doing was acknowledging-

"The Witness Protection Program hid you surprisingly well."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Jackson closed her eyes and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Obviously not one to beat around the bush, Ryuzaki continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Nine years you've been hiding. And under the same identity, too."

"I told you I don't know what you're talking about." Jackson snapped, beginning to hyperventilate. _How can he know about that? How? Who _is _he? _

"You have no need to be frightened, Jackson," Ryuzaki slid over to her vacated seat, looking up at her through the dark locks of his bangs, "I'm not here to hurt you."

Instead of saying anything, Jackson side-stepped around Watari into the rain. Although drenching her from head to toe almost immediately after stepping out from under the umbrella, the rain seemed safer than the young man with the curious eyes.

Ryuzaki exited the car as well, following after her despite the chilly rain soaking through his thin, white long-sleeved shirt. In a last ditch effort to escape, Jackson entered the market. Two-stories and one of the larger food markets in the city, Jackson had hoped to disappear behind one of the numerous shelves, or at the very least in the center of a group of people. Not to be deterred, however, Ryuzaki followed closely on her heels.

"Why are you running?" Ryuzaki snatched her wrist, not hard but with enough pressure to keep her from walking away. "I told you: you have no need to be frightened. I'm not here to hurt you."

_How does he know? How does he know?_ Jackson thought frantically, yanking her wrist out of his grasp and starting to back away. She ended up backing around the corner of the nearest shelf, and into a couple who were clinging to each other in the canned food section. They barely noticed, giving her a distracted, partially frustrated glance before resuming with their previous activities. Normally, seeing such fervent displays of affection in public would make Jackson blush and immediately avert her eyes.

That did she nothing of the sort showed how disturbed she was at his comments.

"Then why are you here?" Jackson whispered, arms hugging her waist as a mantra of _how, how, how_ ran over and over through her head. _How could he know?_ She thought for the umpteenth time in as many minutes. _I certainly don't look the same. I've changed in nine years. _"What do you want from me?"

Ryuzaki cocked his head to the side, slouching with his hands buried deep into the pockets of his jeans. "I just thought you should know that I am aware of your identity."

Giving him a humorless laugh, Jackson took another step away. "Sure it is."

"If I'd wanted to retrieve information, I wouldn't use a tactic such as this."

His logic cracked the wall of fear that had erected itself in her mind. "Fear is a great motivator."

Ryuzaki nodded his head in acknowledgement of her statement, although she saw something in his eyes akin to… sadness? In her current state of mind, she couldn't quite place the look, and she didn't particularly care. "I'm not one for instilling fear in another to gain what I want."

"Is that so?" Jackson took another step backwards.

This time Ryuzaki didn't repeat her movement. Instead he just stood there, his face expressionless yet somehow radiating regret, and disappointment.

Breathing the way she was, Jackson was beginning to feel slightly woozy and she grabbed at the shelf to steady herself. Her hand landed on a loaf of bread which, while being too soft to work as an actual handhold, suited her purposes just fine.

"Are you alright?" Ryuzaki asked, stepping forward with his hand held out hesitantly.

"Get away from me!" Jackson said loudly, earning an angry glance from the couple she'd run into earlier. She clenched her hand around the loaf of bread and threw it at him. As expected, the loaf did not make a good weapon even though it hit Ryuzaki square in the face.

Tucking the bread under his arm, Ryuzaki shuffled forward, the puppy-dog look in his eyes enhanced by the dark bags under his eyes as he said for the third time, "I'm not here to hurt you, Jackson."

The old adage "third time's the charm" must have been true, at least in this case, for Jackson found herself believing him despite the fear gripping her insides like a vise. Swallowing her "flight or flight" instincts, Jackson took a step toward him, meeting in the middle of the aisle. For an endless fifteen seconds, all she could hear was her own breathing, her own heartbeat, but the moment was broken by the loud, lip-smacking sounds of the couple at the end of the aisle.

Finally blushing, Jackson focused her gaze on Ryuzaki. "I think we need to have a talk."

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**A/N: Ack! I cheated! No L/Jackson kisses this time! Only background character kisses. Soz! Actual kisses will come soon, I promise. Please review anyway!  
**

**Thanks for reading! :3**


	5. Thank You Kisses

**A/N: Thanks to **L Lawliet 4ever **(I couldn't respond, but thank you so much for reviewing!) and to everyone who put this story on their Story Alert/Favorite Stories List! **

**30 Kisses**

Theme #16 = All Your/My Life

Chapter Five: Thank-You Kisses

_Finally blushing, Jackson focused her gaze on Ryuzaki. "I think we need to have a talk."_

"About what?' Ryuzaki asked, nibbling on the end of his thumb again.

"I don't know," Jackson replied sarcastically, "maybe about how you knew who I was?"

Giving her a blank stare, Ryuzaki turned and began to walk towards the entrance of the food store. "I don't believe this is a matter we should discuss in public."

Jackson blushed at her lack of discretion. She'd made it a habit not bring up things from her past because of… what had happened, and suddenly she doesn't mind talking about in the middle of very public place? The Witness Protection Program had her under their wing, so to speak, for a reason. Admittedly, she'd long since settled into her new life, and no hassles had come about, but that didn't mean it wasn't still dangerous. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously."

With a scowl at his response, Jackson followed him back into the downpour.

Or, _would have_ followed him back into the downpour, had Watari not been ready and waiting with the large black umbrella. Once both Jackson and Ryuzaki had reentered the car, Watari sat down in the driver's seat and started the vehicle.

"Wait a second; where are we going?" Inwardly, Jackson was cursing herself. She probably looked incredibly stupid in front of Ryuzaki, whom she was beginning to suspect was an incredibly smart man. First she had possibly ruined her cover, and then she had willingly gotten back into a car with strange men without first asking their destination.

Ryuzaki, who had begun to eat a bar of Hershey's dark chocolate, turned to face her in his seat. Not bothering to swallow before speaking, he said, "To my current living arrangements."

"Your _current_ living arrangements? What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means," here Ryuzaki paused to swallow and take another bite of his candy bar, "that I move around a lot."

Jackson nodded. She could relate to that. Although having no issues with her new identity, she'd never felt completely safe and, as a result, she'd lived in numerous places over the years.

Fifteen minutes of awkward silence later and they'd pulled up to a hotel. An extremely expensive, five-star hotel, Jackson noted with a small, knowing smile. Her original guess had been right: Ryuzaki was a man with money. Whether the money was family money, or earned with hard-work she didn't know, but at this point it didn't really matter. What mattered was finding out how Ryuzaki knew her identity.

Shuffling inside, Ryuzaki passed by the front desk without so much as a glance despite the workers' polite, "Welcome back, Mr. Ryuzaki."

Going straight for the elevator, Ryuzaki stepped into the metal compartment and pressed the button for the penthouse floor. Jackson jumped past the doors just before they closed and sent a scathing glare to her companion. "You could have held the door you know."

"You were perfectly capable of getting in the elevator without my help."

Pursing her lips in a scowl, Jackson remained silent until the quiet was too much for her to bear. Watching the numbers over the elevators count up, she asked, "Where's Watari?"

"He went to get me more sugar."

"Sugar?" What could he possibly need more sugar for? But Ryuzaki said nothing, instead opting to finish off his candy bar and toss the wrapper to the floor. Gasping with incredulity, Jackson bent down to pick it up off the floor and scolded, "Ryuzaki! Shame on you!"

Once again, Ryuzaki gave her a blank stare that told her how much he actually didn't care. As it was, the elevator had come to a stop at the penthouse floor. Ryuzaki's "living arrangements" were, to say the least, pristine. Although it seemed her companion had no problem tossing trash where he stood, the penthouse was completely clean and free messes.

Standing there for a moment, Ryuzaki turned to Jackson and said, "Excuse while I go change."

Jackson watched as he disappeared around a corner and took a moment to frown upon the male species. Here she was, soaked to the bone because her exit from the car, and _he_ wanted to get changed? Men. Selfish; the lot of them.

Ryuzaki returned less than five minutes later, dressed in the same exact style of clothing as before, but dry. To her surprise, he also carried another dry long-sleeved shirt and a pair jeans, which he handed off to her as he ordered, "Go change. The bathroom is the second door on the right."

Unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth, Jackson changed into the proffered clothing. When she did shuffle back to the main room, after cuffing the pants' hems several times so as not to trip, Watari had already arrived from his errand and Ryuzaki had proceeded to drop several spoonfuls of sugar into a small cup of tea. Sitting back on the couch, knees once more pulled to his chest as he sipped delicately from the teacup, Ryuzaki stared at her unblinkingly as she entered from the bathroom.

Watari took her wet clothes from her hands before she could ask, so she took the chance while he was gone to say, "Tell me how you knew."

"I told you," Ryuzaki replied, setting his teacup on the coffee table in favor of a chocolate-covered strawberry, "I recognized your face."

"You don't understand, Ryuzaki, I've been hiding in plain sight for what feels like all my life and no one has ever once recognized me. How did you?"

"I'm trained to notice such things." His answer was vague, and only succeeded in frustrating her more. Before she had a chance to say what she really wanted to say, which was something considerably rude given the circumstance, Ryuzaki gestured to the space on the cough next to him. "Come. Sit. Tell me."

She wasn't a stupid woman. She knew what he meant. He wanted her to tell him what had forced her to go under the Witness Protection Program. But from what information she'd already gathered from knowing him, something told her that he already knew what her circumstances had been. This was just a reinforcement technique. "I saw my family murdered. Right in front of me. My mother, my father, my brother, even my _baby sister_. "

Ryuzaki said nothing, and she took it as a cue to continue, despite the tears that had begun gather in her eyes. Some things don't get better with time. "The serial killer, or-or who they-they thought it was left me alive. It's apparently the way he kills. His-his method, I guess."

"Nine years," Ryuzaki mused aloud, "and they still haven't found the murderer."

"Yes; how did you know?"

"People aren't kept under the Witness Protection Program unless they have yet to testify, which means you haven't testified because the killer is still at large."

Swallowed back her tears the best she could, Jackson distracted herself by tucking her hair behind her ears. "And I'm beginning to think they never will."

Ryuzaki leaned towards her, cocking his head to the side, and giving her one of those familiar strange looks. "I could find him, or her, in a week."

Snorting in doubt, Jackson wiped away the tear that had trickled down her cheek with her thumb. "Oh, yeah, sure. What could one guy do in one week that a whole team couldn't do in nine years?"

"I'm quite competent."

"Is that so?"

"It is. I'm not a famous detective for nothing."

"What?" Jackson paused mid-sniffle. Was she sitting next to a mentally unsound human being? Should she be worried for her safety? Watari came around the corner to set a small plate of sugar cubes on the coffee table. "You could—who _are_ you?"

"L."

"Wait. So… 'L?' As in… that's your name? As in… the detective from…" Jackson momentarily debated punching him the nose, and then cementing the action by stepping on his sweets, but then her mind caught on his boast. "You—you could find him?"

The pair locked gazes. "And I will."

Jackson's heart began beating fast in her chest. She sat up straight. "Are you serious?"

"I've never been particularly fond of jokes."

Overwhelmed by the possibility of catching her family's murderer, Jackson slung her arms around Ryuzaki's… or was it L's… neck, jostling him enough that he dropped the strawberries in his hands. Jackson covered his mouth with her own and pressed him against the arm of the couch. Drawing a breath long enough say, "Thank you! Thank you," before leaning back down give him another joy-induced kiss.

The sound of glass clinking softly on the coffee table brought Jackson's attention back to reality. Watari, however, was already walking back into the kitchen.

L sat up, clearing his throat as he did so. A barely tangible flush rode high on his cheekbones as he said, "Now, tell me anything and everything you remember from that day, and _exactly_ the way you remember it."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so right now, Jackson's story seems _kiiiiinda_ similar to Misa's, but it's really not. All shall be revealed soon enough! But anyway, thank you so much for reading, and _pleeeease_ review! I said it before, and I'll say it again: I like knowing what I've done right, what I've done wrong, or what I should do better.**

**Thanks again for reading! :3**


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